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Video Transcript: Hard to Find Wines Made Easy

Written By: ClassicWines.com Team on Thursday, July 17, 2008

Brian Freedman: Welcome to Classic Wines TV; I am your host Brian Freedman. Today we will be tasting wines from the Signature Series from the California Wine Club. I can't stress what a great opportunity these Signature Series wines are to taste small or boutique producer's wines that you might have a hard time finding when you visit the wine store.

So let's talk about Wine number one here. Wine number; this is the Pessagno Garys' Vineyard 2004 Pinot Noir. There are some names in the wine world that get wine lovers really excited. There is Chateau Margeaux, and Bordeaux; there is Domaine de la Romanée-Conti in Burgundy. In California there is Garys' Vineyard, and yes the Vineyard is actually owned by two gentlemen named Gary. They grow some of the best fruit in the entire State of California.

So you will notice here, the color of this wine is not quite as inky black as some of the red wines you might be used to. That is a good thing. We look for this with Pinot Noir, thinner skins, less color to extract. This to me is a sign that they are not over doing it; they are hopefully let the fruit and the terroir express themselves.

On the nose here, to me it smells like nothing so much as wild strawberries and cream. Certainly I get some of that vanilla from the oak. I am getting great riped strong fruit, which we would expect, but at the same time it's balancing it out with the sense of elegance. Let's see how it goes on the palate.

This wine has this amazing spine of acidity; there is also this sense of minerality which is really interesting. It holds everything together. There is a sense of power and strength on the one hand from the fruit and a sense of elegance and finesse which is being brought by the acid and the restraint on the other. This is really what we look for when we talk about smaller or boutique California producers, and this is what we hope for when the fruit is from Gary's Vineyard.

Now Wine number two this is Roy J. Maier Cabernet Sauvignon this is from Sonoma; this is a 2004. Now this wine here, it's significantly darker than the Pinot Noir was, which we hope for with the Cabernet, and on the nose let's see what is going in here.

Again this is so incredibly Bordeaux like on the nose and when I say that I mean that we are getting some graphite we are getting some cedar; there is a little bit of toast there some smoke. The focus is not just on the fruit; it's on the earth, it's on the expression of the land as well. This is what the smaller producers can really do, because they are giving every single cluster of grapes all the tender love and care it needs.

So see what this taste like. This wine is just as Bordeaux like on the palate as it was on the nose with the added benefit of that great power that you get from California. I am tasting wonderful graphite pencil lead; there is a real cedar component there, there is smokiness, just got a big wave of cigar tobacco. This is the kind of wine that you can really easily fall in love with.

Now in terms of food pairing; with this one with the Cabernet, I would love to have this with some kind of grilled meat. Honestly the smoke from the charcoal will bridge the distance perfectly between the meat and the food; absolutely spectacular. Don't let anyone tell you that richer, older wines are not meant for the summer, because I'll tell you, with the nice barbecue outside you are not going to beat that.

On the other hand the Pinot Noir here, you can you can go a little bit lighter despite its power, it's less tannic, it's little more brightly acidic. So what you can do there, you can do some grilled salmon, but again I make sure that you really do play around with some of those more chard bits. With this perfectly done lamb, ah it would be unbelievable, may be with like nice rosemary thyme garlic rub, we are talking pure heaven here.

Bottom-line is this. Both of these wines are great examples of why the Signature Series from the California Wine Club or any of these other smaller or boutique producer wines offer so much, and despite the fact that they can be a little difficult to find, it's worth pouncing on the opportunity whenever you do find them.

Well you can see more of our videos dealing with the Wines from wine clubs on Classic Wines TV; just check out classicwines.com. And remember taste is widely as you possibly can; it's a whole world of wine out there, you don't want to cheat yourself out of any of it.

From all of us here, I am your host Brian Freedman. Till next time, cheers!

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Wines Featured In Video Transcript: Hard to Find Wines Made Easy

Pessagno 2004 Pinot Noir (garys vineyard)
Region: Santa Lucia Highlands

  

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